This website, like many others, is monetized using Google AdSense. The advertisements you see are based on an advertiser’s themed keywords and matched by Google to relevant articles. That is going to change soon because of a new Google program. As a result, you may wish to change how you handle their advertising cookies. I’ve included instructions for opting in and opting out of various advertising cookies.

Google’s latest system is based on interest based advertising. This system is not relying on just the web page you’re reading. Instead, Google may serve an ad based on your behavior. Relax; it’s only your web behavior. This isn’t a new concept as advertisers have been doing this for years. All the same, you should understand how it works.

The idea behind the system is that advertisers can better target an audience based on their behavior. In theory, this sounds reasonable although I’ve not seen anything that allows me as an advertiser to target these categories yet. (Note: I do administer several AdWords campaigns for my day job.)

Google Advertising Options

The way Google categorizes your interests is by storing a browser cookie that contains a unique ID. If you use multiple browsers, you’ll have a cookie for each web browser. As you visit different websites, Google notes your ID and tallies the web site categories you’ve visited. Think of this as an interest scorecard. It doesn’t track personally identifiable information. If you’re not familiar with cookies, you can review our Browser Cookies 101 tutorial.

There are several ways the Google system works. These can be loosely identified as:

• Automatic mode
• Preference mode
• Opt out mode

Mode 1: Google Automatic (Default mode)

This default mode is where Google determines what you like based on the websites you visit and the tally count. For example, if you frequent this site and related websites, Google might categorize your behavior as:

• Computers & Electronics | Software | Business & Productivity
• Computers & Electronics | Software | Operating Systems | Windows
• Reference | How To & Expert Content

They have about 600 categories but some areas are intentionally excluded such as race, religion and health. Unless you’re extremely focused, you’ll probably span many categories.

Mode 2: You Set Your Google Ad Preferences

Google does provide a method to choose which categories you prefer. It looks like the system gives your selections added weighting as I didn’t see an option to block categories.

To set your Google Ad Preferences,

1. Go to http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/view

2. Click the Add interests button.

3. Click the + sign next to a category to see the subcategories.

4. Click the Add link for the subcategory that interests you. The link will change to Remove.

5. Repeat the process for other categories.

6. Click the Submit button.

Your setting will stick so long as you or some software program doesn’t delete the cookie.

Mode 3: No thanks, I want to Opt Out

There are a couple ways to opt out. The first is to use the Opt Out option on http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/view. This will dissociate your interests with each browser. Remember if you use multiple browsers, you’ll need to repeat the process with other browsers. Once you opt out, your cookie contents will change to id=OPT_OUT.

There is also a more permanent solution if you wish to install a browser plug-in. The plug-in maintains your Google opt-out status even if you clear your cookies.

Opting Out with Other Advertisers

As I mentioned, Google isn’t the first advertiser to use cookies. In the grand scheme, I feel they’ve been more open about their advertising policy and privacy than many companies. If you’re concerned about other advertising cookies, I’d suggest checking out the Network Advertising Organization.

The NAI-Opt Out tool allows you to see if a cookie has been set from any of 27 members. The tool provides a status for each cookie and a means to opt out. It also has a feature where you can act on all members at once. Remember that if you use multiple browsers, you’ll need to run the tool for each one.

After you click submit, you’ll get a listing of which Opt Outs succeeded. As with the Google process, this will stop tracking but you’ll still see ads.

Changes in Privacy Policy

As a result of Google’s advertising change, I also updated this site’s privacy policy. If you have questions about the policy or browser cookies, feel free to drop me an email.